£4BN IRAQ BILL MAY PUT 2P ON YOUR TAXES

[Nottingham]

http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/content_objectid=13405924_method=full_siteid=106694_headline=-%2D4BN%2DIRAQ%2DBILL%2DMAY%2DPUT%2D2P%2DON%2DYOUR%2DTAXES-name_page.html

£4BN IRAQ BILL MAY PUT 2P ON YOUR TAXES

Sep 14 2003




By Chris Mclaughlin Political Editor


CHANCELLOR Gordon Brown has warned Tony Blair that the spiralling cost of Iraq threatens to blow the British economy off course.
In a move which reopens tensions between the two over Iraq, Mr Brown has delivered the Prime Minster a bombshell forecast that the military bill for the war and its aftermath will rise by £1billion to £4.5billion.
That is equivalent to more than 2p on income tax.

The increase will add to the Government's economic problems amid City predictions that Britain is heading deep into the red, with a national deficit of £40-£50billion.
Mr Brown is desperate to avoid tax increases or public spending cutbacks close to the election, expected in 2005.

But every extra billion on the public spending bill represents 2p on the income tax bill. The Chancellor was reticent about supporting the conflict in Iraq. Now he is worried that Mr Blair's support for more cash - pledged privately to President George Bush last week - will help scupper the Government's record on money management.
Fears over spending lay behind the recent decision to restrict extra troops for Iraq to 1,200 instead of the 5,000 which Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said were needed in a leaked memo.

Treasury concerns come amid warnings from the US that the final price tag in Iraq is "almost impossible to exaggerate".

:bounce:

Lets repeat that quote for everybody again


the final price tag in Iraq is "almost impossible to exaggerate".
:bounce:

Can we say the bucket has no bottom!

[Ediacara]

1. is this 4 British billion?

IIRC what Americans refer to as "one billion" is refered to in the UK as "one thousand million," and a "British billion" is more along the lines of one trillion.

Or am I completely wrong?

[Cha]

2. Yeah! I was wondering how this was going to affect the British

"economy"!

And they know more than we know over here!

Thanks, Nottingham!

[Skittles]

3. p - is that pence or pound

probably a stupid question but - I thought p was pence?

[Nottingham]

4. Skittles! I just copied the way it was on the article!

:bounce:

[ryharrin]

5. either way, it doesn't sound like much. Nothing at all to the estimated

$300 per person here in the US.

[Nottingham]

7. Yep but its going to cause Great Havoc on Englands economy

How many countries economies will be destroyed by this War!

:bounce:

[lfairban]

8. I had it figured on a per taxpayer basis.

I figure about 125 million US taxpayers. That would mean the share would be $8 per billion, or almost $700 for the $87 billion. Depending on your income, most taxpayer will assume a liability of between $500 and $2000 dollars, with the average on the order of $1200 or so.

[Vikingking66]

6. I'd love to have Gorden Brown as PM n/t